Electric cut-out



May 25, 1937. E. R. HERMANN ELECTRIC CUT-OUT Filed June 7, 1934 2 sheets-sheet 1 Ben' amm R I-Ie-r-momn, jl

is Abbornegf May 25, i937. B. R., HERMANN ELECTRIC CUT-*OUT Filed June '7, 1934 2 Sheeis-Sheet 2 Fig. 7.

E Inventor.

en 'a mn RHev'mom'n,

is Attorney.

Patented May 25, 193? f anni PATENT FFICE ELEUrnro CUT-OUT Beniamin R. Hermann, Pittsield, Mass., assigner to General Electric Company, a corporation of New Horb Application June 7, lg3d, Serial No. 729,42??

l Claims.

My invention relates to an electric cut-out and more particularly to an electric cut-out combined with a fuse of the expulsion type.

An object of my invention is to provide an lin-S proved combination. fuse and cut-out in which the cover ci the cutout is moved upon operation of the :fuse to give an indication that the fuse has blown.

Another object of my invention is to provide a cut-out which may be readily altered to cause the combined fuse to drop out of engagement entirely from' the contact terminals upon operation oi the fuse instead of merely moving to give an indication of the operation of the fuse.

What 'i consider to be novel and my invention will be better understood by reference to the following specification and appended claims when considered in connection with the accom-n panying drawings in which Fig. l is a side secn tional view of my improved fuse and cut-out with the fuse intact and tbe cut-out in tlie closed position; Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view after the operation of the fuse in which the cover of the cut-out has moved to indicate the condition of the fuse; Fig. 3 is a side sectional view after the operation of the fuse and its initial movement out oi engagement with the upper contacts; Fig. d is a side sectional view with the cut-out in the open position after operation of the fuse; Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view along lines 5--5 of Fig. l taken in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the cutn out with the cover removed; Pig. 7 is a perspec' tive view from the rear of the cover; Fig. 8 is a side view of the cut-out and fuse mounted in position on the cross arm of a pole; Fig. 9 is a similar side view oi the cut-out mounted in an alternate position at an angle to the vertical; and Figs. l0 and 11 are detail views of modled forms oi support for the cover and fuse.

Referring to the drawings, Ill indicates a casing of porcelain or similar insulating material in which is carried two stationary contacts and I2.4 Conductors are adapted to be connected to contacts and I2 by means of binding screws I3 and |4 respectively. As better indicated in Fig.6 the conductors connected to contacts Il and I2 pass through openings I5 and I6 respectively which are located in the side walls of casing I0. A cover I1 is provided for casing I0 and carries a. fuse I8 of the expulsion type in upstanding portions I9 and 20 of lnsulating material integral with the cover I1. A metal lever 2| supports cover I1 and has arms 22 and 23 whichare pivotally connected to the (CL 2Go- 114) opstanding portion it ci cover il by means of a pin 24. lever 2i is provided with a hook 25 which passes over e. pivotal pin 26 secured in casing lll. Fuse it consists of a tube 21 of insulating material with a contact cap 2S secured 5 to its upper end. As better indicated in Fig. 1. when the cover is closed contact cap 28 of fuse it passes between two latching lingers 29 and 3Il and engages an end contact ilnger 3| all of which are connectedto Contact li. Contact nger 3l o is backed by a spring member Sla which provides the desired contact pressure. A fuse link located in tube 2l is connected to the Contact cap at one end and has a conductor 32 which extends from the bottom of the tube and is connected to l@ lever 2| by means of a thumb screw 33 and nut Sie, as better indicated in Fig. 5. It may be seen by reference to Fig. 5 that thumb screw 33 is looselyv held in an opening 35 of lever 2| by means of a projection id which is spun over a shoulder 3l provided on the thumb screw. Conn ductor 32 is clamped between nut 3% and lever il. As best indicated in Fig. i, lever 2| is heid in close engagement with tubel 2l of use i8 by the tension of the fuse link. Lever 2l is held in this position so long as the fuse link remains intact. To prevent a loosening of this connection between the fuse I3 and lever 2l, by rotaa tion of thumb screw 33 and nut 34. a projecting pin 38 is provided from the side of lever 2i which nts within a slot provided in nut 345. Lever l and the lower end. of the fuse link are electrically connected to the lower Contact I2 by means of a contact linger 39 which is pivotally connected to lever 2| at 40. As indicated in Figs. 3 and 7, 3- a spiral spring 4l is interposed between level` 2| and contact ilnger 39 to provide the desired contact pressure and also to urge cover |1 and its connected parts to the open position. To insure good electrical connection between the 40 contact linger 39 and lever 2|, a copper strip 42 is connected at its opposite ends to the contact finger 39 and the lever 2|. A stirrup 43 is provided pivotally connected to lever 2| and loosely surrounding fuse tube 21 tolimit the relative 4- movement between the tube and lever. By reference to Fig. 2, it may be seen that upon operation of the fuse link, conductor 32 is blown from the open end of tube 21 and thus releases the tension which secures lever 2| in engagement -50 with tube 21 and permits movement of the cover I1 under the bias of spring 4| until movement is stopped by stirrup 43. This partial movement of the cover I1 gives a visual indication of the operation of the fuse. The movement permitted- 55 I lower end of tube 21 and releases the c between the fuse tube and hook 51.

then moves cover I1 and fuse tube 21 to the :rightV by stirrup 4I is not sufficient to cause disengagement between the contact cap 28 of the fuse I8 and the latching fingers 29 and 30 secured to the upper contact II. Thus the cover is only moved a small amount at the bottom which however is quite sufficient to give an obvious indication of the operation of the fuse. In some cases it may be desirable to permit the cover to open completely, in which case the stirrup 43 is removed. As better indicated in Fig. 3, the initial movement of the cover I1 is substantially longitudinal until the contact cap 26 of the fuse I8 moves completely out of engagement with the latching fingers of the upper contact II. The cover I1 and fuse I6 then rotate about the lower pivotal pin 26 to the full open position, as indicated in Fig. 4. A stop M is secured adjacent pivotal pin 26 to engage lever 2l in the open position to prevent hook 25 of lever 2i jumping from pin 26 and permitting cover I1 dropping to the ground. Cover I1 and fuse I6 may then be removed from casing III by disengagement of the hook 25 from the pivotal pin 26. For manual opening of the cut-out, cover I1 is provided with a handle I5. Casing III is adapted to be supported on the cross arm of a pole by means of a U-shaped clamp 46. Casing III is provided with a metal bar l1 extending from the rear with a bend at an angle of approximately 25 to the horizontal. Bar 41 is connected to bar I6 of clamp I6 by means of bolt I9. As indicated in Figs. 8 and 9, clamp I6 may either be connected to a portion of bar l1 which extends horizontally or with the angular portion of the bar to suspend the casing at an angle. It is desired in some cases to support the cut-out at an angle so that when the cover is in the open position, it may be examined from a location beneath the cut-out, and so that the parts of the cut-out within the' casing are better protected from rain, sleet and snow. In Fig. 10 a modified form of my invention is indicated in which the cover is only adapted to move to indicate operation of the fuse and it may not be converted to permit the fuse to drop out from engagement with the contact terminals completely. In this modification a metal sleeve 50 surrounds the lower 'end oi' fuse tube 21 and has an integral projection 5I to which lcontact iinger 52 is pivotally connected. Contact iinger 52 engages the lower contact terminal I2. A spiral spring 53 is located between contact ringer .52 and projection I to provide the desired contact pressure and also to bias the cover I1 to the open position. Sleeve 56 is pro vided with two projecting pins 54 and 55 from each side of the sleeve which slidably engage a slot 56 in a hook 51. Hook 51 is adapted to pivotally support fuse tube 21`and cover I1 on pivotal pin 26. Conductor 32 is connected to hook 51 by means of a nut 58 and secures cover I1 in the closed position with pin 5l in engagement with the left hand end of slot 56. Upon operation of the fuse, the conductor 32 is blown frornthe until stopped by engagement of pin 55 with the right hand end of slot 56. By this arrangement, a combined cut-out and fuse is provided to give a definite indication of the operation of the fuse, at the same time maintaining 'the cover in a protective `position with respect to the casing to prevent deterioration of the contact surfaces due to atmospheric conditions. A similar modification is shown in Fig. l1 except that a compression spring 5l is located directly in hook 51 and engages a sleeve 60 which surrounds the lower end oi tube 21'and has similar projecting pins 6I and 62 which slidably engage slot 56. 4 The llower contact terminal is integral with the pivotal pin 26 to which a conductor may be connected by means of binding screw 63. The operation is the same as the operation of the device indicated in Fig. 10.

From the foregoing it may be seen that `a com' bined cut-out and fuse is provided in which the cover is adapted to open from the bottom by a slight amount upon operation of the fuse to give a visual indication of this operation. By this arrangement the cover is still suii'iclently closed to protect the stationary contacts of the cut-out from atmospheric conditions which might interfere with the subsequent operation of theV cut-out such as, for example, the formtion of sleet on the contact surfaces or deterioration of the contact surfaces. In addition. the cut-out may be readily altered so that the cover will completely open upon operation of the fuse and thus give a more certain indication of its operation.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent oi the United States is:

l. An electric cut-out comprising a casing of insulating material, stationary contacts carried by said casing, a cover pivotally connected to said casing, a fuse carried by said cover, means to connect said fuse between said stationary contacts, and means to cause said cover to open partially without separating the connection of said fuse from said contacts upon operation o( said fuse.

2. An electric cut-out comprising a casing c! insulating material, stationary contacts secured to said casing, a cover for said casing, a fuse carried by said cover, a lever pivotally connected to both said cover and said casing, a fuse link rigidly securing said lever to said fuse. spring means urging said cover to the open position, and means to limit the movement of said cover upon operation of said fuse.

3. An electric cut-out comprising a casing of insulating material, contacts secured to said casing, a cover, a fuse carried by said cover, a contact cap engaging spring contact ngers extending from one of said stationary contacts, a lever pivotally connected to said cover and Bald casing, a contact finger pivotally connected to said lever and urging said cover to the open position, a fuse link connected to said lever and securing it rigidly to said cover, and means to limit the movement of said cover pn operation of said fuse.

4. An electric cut-out comprising a casing of insulating material, stationary contacts secured to said casing, a cover, a fuse carried by said cover, a contact cap connected to one end of said fuse and adapted to engage spring contact fingers extending from one of said stationary contacts, a fuse link located in said fuse and having a conductor extending from the lower end of said fuse, a lever pivotally connected to said cover and said casing, means to connect said conductor to said lever to rigidly secure lt to said cover, a spring contact nger engn the other of said stationary contacts and pivotally connected to said lever, means to cause said cover toopen upon operation of said fuse, and means to limit the opening movement ofsaid cover.

5. A cut-out for an electric circuit, including in combination, .stationary contact meam, a movably mounted fuse device including a fusible element, means movably engageable with slid 7g stationary contact means for connecting said fusible element between the stationary contact means, and means operative upon rupture of said usible element to open the electric circuit for e ecting movement of said fuse device toward an open position without complete disengagement of said connecting means from said stationary contact means. l i

6. An electric cut-out comprising a casing of insulating material, stationary contacts carried by said casing, latching ngers and a resilient contact finger connected to one of said stationary contacts, a cover for said casing, e, fuse carried by said cover, a lever pivotally connected to both said cover and said casing, a, fuse link rigidly seein-ing said lever to said fuse, spring means urging said cover to the open position,

and means `to prevent complete -disengagement of said fuse from said latching ngers upon operation ot said fuse.

7. .An electric cut-out comprising a support, stationary contacts secured to said support, a fuse adapted to be connected to said stationary contacts, alever pivotally connected to said support and said fuse, springv means urging said 

